Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped with the good people of Starrett Rd. CC in Jacksonville this morning. What a great bunch of people.
• I am amazed at the work of this church, they are sending a group to New Orleans for a missions trip as well as receiving a special offering for IDES to assist with the recent tornado victims. They are truly grace dispensers!
• A GOOD friend is going through a difficult time, yet I am amazed at his grace and spirit, I am praying for you daily DJ.
• People fall into one of two categories; they are either grace dispensers or grace consumers. Sadly grace consumers are clueless to the fact they are consumers rather than dispensers.
• This past week I visited my eighty second church since I began my job at FCC, during this time I have discovered we are a diverse and unique community known as the body of Christ. 
• I cannot get over this worship song by Natalie Grant.
• I am wondering what are the motives behind the actions of some people? After all Jesus asked a pertinent question regarding motives in Matthew 16.
• One of the greatest problems in our churches today is the absence of BIBLICAL Leadership, somewhere down the road we have exchanged BIBLICAL Leadership for the world's idea of leadership and the results have been and continue to be disastrous. 
• In case you are wondering the college football season kicks off in less than 80 days.
• Reconnecting with old friends in just 7 days - Can't wait!  
• Something to Chew on; No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings. ~ Peter Drucker 

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped with the fine folks of Canoe Creek Christian Church today. 
• The folks at Canoe Creek are a very gracious group.
• Do you realize that of all the inventions of mankind, we have never been able to invent grace, it is purely the God thing which changes our life.
• Three important thoughts we need to know about grace...
• Grace is the offer of God’s ceaseless presence and irrational love that cannot be stopped.
• Grace is not just the forgiveness of sins. Yes, is the promise of forgiveness, but it does not stop there!
• Grace is the constant flowing of God’s power and presence and favor in your life from one moment to the next moment to the next moment to enable you to do whatever it is that God wants for you to do. 
• The Canoe Creek Worship Team did a great job with the hymn O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing! What a great arrangement.
• Tony B. did a great job with John 10 this morning in Bible School, we would all be better off if we hear and obey when it comes to God's word.
• Got word today a dear man passed away this morning, Bill was one of the most gracious people I know, and without a doubt he has heard those words from Jesus; "Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant" 
• Some college students returned from a week in Haiti this past weekend with a new perspective on life.
• Speaking of perspective, I got a new one this week from a good friend about what really matters. I am praying for him daily.
• Next week I preach in Jacksonville, looking forward to spend some time at home with my folks as well.
• Sometimes you just have to laugh.
• I am amazed at God's gracious provision.
• Something to Chew On...Some leaders feel that by keeping people in the dark, they maintain a measure of control. But that is a leader’s folly and an organization’s failure. Secrecy spawns isolation, not success. Knowledge is power, yes, but what leaders need is collective power, and that requires collective knowledge. I found that the more people knew what the goals were, the better buy-in I got – and the better results we achieved together. – Mike Abrashoff

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Jim preached on the topic of marriage this morning at FCC Kissimmee, did a great job.
• What I really appreciated about the message was the fact Jim did not focus on our past marriage mistakes and miscues rather he challenged us to begin afresh today.
• 1 Peter 3:7 is an interesting passage as it relates a man's prayer life to how he treats his wife.
• Four items from the book of Genesis regarding the first marriage in the Bible worth noting,

1. God saw the need for marriage.
2. God prepared both partners for marriage.
3. God sanctified the first marriage.
4. God blessed the first marriage.

• I am going to miss worshiping with the FCC Kissimmee family as I am preaching for the next 5 weeks in churches in Central and North Florida. 
• FCC Kissimmee raised over $2,300 today for a mission trip to Haiti. What a generous church!
• As I travel around the state of Florida, I am amazed how churches are trying to introduce people to Christ. Some are doing it quietly and no one knows about their efforts, yet God knows our works and His blessings are evident.
• Spent some time with a preacher this past week talking about the role of repentance as it relates to God's blessings. I wonder if we are missing this vital ingredient as it relates to church growth?
• Something to Chew on; Nothing can happen through you until it happens to you, and you can only communicate what you’re in the process of rediscovering. –Lloyd John Ogilvie

When a Crisis Hits Part 3

Another way people deal with a crisis is the refusal to act. Maybe it is the inability to decide, maybe it is the fear of the unknown or the uncertainty of not knowing what to do, but whatever you call it is the refusal to act. When a crisis comes along it is pivotal for leaders to act. When leaders refuse to act they only make the crisis worse. A crisis does not "blow over" nor does a crisis "fix itself". That is why it is a crisis, a crisis is a situation that requires discernment, action and leadership if it is to be managed. The following is a crisis management plan to help individuals as well as organizations deal with a crisis...

1. Determine if the current situation is actually a crisis. Remember the definition of a crisis; a turning point or an unstable event.
2. Define the cause of the crisis. If you do not know how you got into this crisis you are destined to repeat the same crisis again.
3. Discuss how to deal with the crisis, Proverbs 11:14 reminds us of the value of wise discussion.         
4. Deal with the crisis quickly to avoid having the crisis infect the entire organization.
5. Be aware there may be damage control the leaders must deal with, this must be done wisely and quickly.

This is but one way to deal with a crisis, I am sure there are other crisis management strategies that are helpful. Just remember, every strategy contains one thing in common to deal with a crisis there must be action, refusing to act only prolongs the crisis and can lead to permanent damage or bring the demise to an organization.   

When a Crisis Hits Part 2

When a crisis hits an organization we have several options available to us. Unfortunately one of the favorite methods of dealing with a crisis is to take the "Circle the Wagons" approach. Instead of looking for advice from people who have faced the crisis, we turn inward and try to figure out the crisis for ourselves. However one of the reasons we face a crisis is we have already turned inward mentally and that has led to the problem becoming a crisis. 

When we take the circle the wagons approach we are in danger of moving into a survival mode rather than moving forward out of the crisis. In other words we become our own worst enemy by refusing to seek out advice, outside help and visionary planning. 

Over the last 3 years I have watched one organization face a crisis and they did anything but circle the wagons. Instead of moving into survival mode they pushed forward with a focus on prayer, visionary leadership and empowering he team to help navigate the crisis. As a  result this organization is moving out of the crisis mode and is a catching the momentum of new growth and expansion. To move out of a crisis mode takes a unique leadership skill, that I am afraid many organizations simply do not process, so for those organizations, the circle the wagons approach seems best when in reality this is a recipe or disaster.  

Next time we will look at other approaches to dealing with a crisis.  

What to do when the Crisis Hits

Over the last few months I have had the opportunity to study organizations in crisis. The dictionary defines crisis as a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something. A second definition is an "unstable period"

It seems we have no shortage of crises today. Everything from economic downturn to natural disasters to the leadership vacuum we are seeing in our country all have their unique crises that is causing a great deal of angst for people. While we are aware of the crises around us the big question is what do we do when a crisis hits? 

It has been my experience, more often than not organizations seem to refuse to acknowledge there is a crisis. There may be a sense that something is wrong or that the problem will blow over, but honestly the crisis is brewing and most people simply refuse to believe there is a crisis. That is why leadership is so important in an organization. Leaders must define reality, they must be aware of what is happening in the organization and be aware if a problem is a potential crisis or not. Recognizing a potential crisis is key if an organization is going to navigate through a crisis. 

There are other ways people respond when a crisis hits and we will look at these items over the next few days. Hopefully through these post one can make wise decisions when a crisis hits.